Abstract

Since the introduction of the first antiretroviral drug, zidovudine, in 1987, over 25 different antiretroviral agents from
six different drug classes have been approved for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Today, combination antiretroviral therapy
(ART) is extremely effective in suppressing HIV-1 replication, providing durable control of the virus in adherent patients.
However, despite the effectiveness of ART in blocking viral replication, HIV-1 infection cannot be cured by ART alone
because HIV-1 establishes a state of latent infection in a small pool of resting, memory CD4+ T cells. Some new developments
in the search for a cure are discussed.